The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 14, 2000, Image 7
ETCETERA
u
Love often comes when least expected
I’m the walking
definition of a nerd
Yep, that’s me. I wa:
the last one picked foi
touch football game:
at recess.
My glasses art
made out of recyclet
soda bottles from tht
‘60s.
I’m more or les:
on a first-name basi:
with every teacher'
had in high school
I can ride a unicy
cle.
Need I say more'
__:_
To make a long story short, I’ll start with
the beginning of my senior year of high school.
By then, I’d become fed up with how my
peers perceived me, so I came up with my
own philosophy: “If you can’t join ‘em, beat
’em.” After all, it wouldn’t be long before I left
my home to come to Columbia and start a new
life with new faces.
I figured the true friends I had were worth
keeping, and that I was destined to meet the girl
of my dreams at Thomas Cooper Library. So, I
planned to coast through my senior year not con
centrating on chasing after girls that would nev
er give me a second look, and I planned for the
future. But, as Bums said, “The best laid plans
That year, I was somehow talked into play
ing the part of Sitting Bull in the drama club’s
production of Irving Berlin’s “Annie Get Your
Gun.”
After the first meeting for read-throughs and
cast introductions, I heard a toilet flush as my
plans to avoid a relationship swirled down to niy
brain’s sewer of stupid and misguided thoughts.
I heard a sweet voice ask my friend for a ride
home. He politely declined because he had to
work.
And I, like a sailor drawn to the sound of
sirens’ voices, offered her a ride. My eyes weren’t
prepared for what they saw. The most beautiful
girl I’d ever seen smiled and simply said,
“Thanks.”
“There’s no harm in giving her a ride home,”
I rationalized to myself. “I mean, it is on the way
The ride wasn’t the uncomfortable silence
I expected — we talked about interests, books,
and even made plans for future rides home.
Every day, I looked forward to drama prac
tice, simply for the 15-minute drive afterward.
Eventually, she invited me into her house to
look at her father’s record collection, which I
fondly remember as a time of complete ner
vousness and blank stares at various classic rock
albums.
I was too busy hanging on every word ut
tered from her mouth to pay much attention to
the records.
After weeks of rides home and careful schem
ing of ways to get her to kiss me (I was afraid
that if I tried such a bold move, I’d trip over my
shoelaces or something, which, in typical nerd
fashion, were inevitably untied), I finally de
cided how to escalate our friendship.
It was during an evening rehearsal when I
made my plaSi.
When the opportunity arose, I would invite
her to go to a quiet spot in my neighborhood
to look at the stars with me.
I guess it pleased Fate, because the night of
my decision, we were let out early from re
hearsal. She mentioned on the way home that
she wasn’t ready to go home yet, so, in a rare
instance of social bravery, I acted upon my plan.
So, on a cold night in mid-November, this
most gorgeous girl and I were huddled in a dark
cul-de-sac, shivering.
We made small talk, but there was that in
evitable lull in the conversation.
And that’s when she kissed me. I was so
astonished that my scheme worked that I laughed
out loud. She mistook the gesture, thinking I was
laughing at her.
After stuttering through what I wanted to
say, I somehow convinced her I wasn’t laugh
ing at her (I later explained the real meaning
of the laugh, which she said made a hell of a
lot more sense than the explanation I stammered
out that night).
Over time, the kisses multiplied and our blos
soming romance was the chief topic of back
stage (and teacher) gossip. We’ve been dating
ever since, save for a short break this summer
for soul-searching.
Want to know the moral of this column?
There are two. Take one, take both, I don’t care.
One: one never finds love when one is looking
for it. And two: Even the nerd can “get the girl.”
-1
A piUlV/JOlUllUl
life is tough on a nerd. Not only do we get os
tracized for — gasp — doing well in school, but
we never “get the girl” (to use the parlance of
our times).
CtaytonKate
is a sophomore
journalism major and
news editor. He can
be reached by e-mail
at cekale®
hotmail.com.
Time's running out to buy Valentine's Day gifts
Flowers and chocolate are always appreciated, but it’s not too late for a little creativity
BY TERRIE MORRAY
Staff Writer
It’s the time of year again when love is in the air.
You can see it all around you. You can see it in Wal
Mart, Kmart and even Bi-Lo, when you walk in and see
nothing but cards, flowers and other little gifts.
You can even see it on television, with all the lovey
dovey movies that are starting to come on.
Yes, you’ve guessed it - it’s Valentine’s Day again.
It’s the time of year when you get to buy special gifts
for the special people in your life and show them just how
much they mean to you.
The best part is that Valentine’s Day lets you know ex
actly how special you are to other people.
Unfortunately, it can cost a significant amount, of
money to buy Valentine’s gifts, and money’s something col
lege students don’t have a lot of.
But with no money, "
how can you get a great
gift for all your loved
ones or that really spe
cial gift for your “sig
nificant other”? Don’t
worry. I’ve got all the an
swers for you.
All you need to do is
put your creative, crafty
thinking caps on.
Along with being creative, though, these ideas are also £
inexpensive.
First, you can go get a clear picture frame, from Wal
Mart or even the Dollar Tree, and some paint markers. i
Then, you get a great picture of you and your boyfriend, c
girlfriend or friend and decorate the outside of the frame
any way you want to. 1
Freshman Latoria
Brown said, “One year, my
boyfriend was so sweet. He
gave me a picture of my-,
self and him in a picture
frame that he had deco
rated just for me.”
Another great gift
idea is to take all the pic
tures you have of the i«o
of you and put them into
photo album or make a collage out ot them.
Freshman Sara Lynn Norwood agrees with that idea.
“Last year, the boy I was dating made a collage out of
11 the pictures that he had of us together and gave it to me
n Valentine’s,” Norwood said.
The most popular gifts for Valentine’s Day would be
lowers, candy and balloons, of course.
That’s not an original idea, but you can never go
wrong with it.
Freshman Heather Widcker told of one of her past Valen
tine’s gifts.
“My boyfriend and I just started dating,” she said, “so I
wasn’t really expecting anything. But it turns out he had
flowers and a card delivered to me.”
Ursula Brown got another special gift. “I was sick on
Valentine’s,” she said, “so my boyfriend came all the way
to my house and brought me this big teddy bear and flow
ers.”
It shouldn’t matter how much the gift cost or how big
it is.
And whether the gift was an original idea or has been
around for ages, all that really matters is that someone cared
enough to go out and buy a gift or took the time
to make one.
It’s the thought that counts.
‘One year, my boyfriend was so sweet. He
gave me a picture of myself and him in a
picture frame that he had decorated just for
me.'
Latoria Brown
USC freshman
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Connections
Connections pairs undergraduate women students with
professional women who serve as mentors. You will be
matched based on similar interests, and have structured events
planned for you to form grounds for communication.
.
Connections’ goal is to provide women students
a mentor to help them face the new challenges
that they will experience as college students.
February 17, 2000
Connections Meet Ft Greet ,
Russell House, Golden Spur
4 p.m.
February 24, 2000
Hands on Workshop
A Lesson in Clay: Spirit Bowl
Russell House, Room 305
4 p.m.
March 2, 2000
A Healthy Woman is a Strong Woman
Russell House, Room 322/326
4 p.m.
March 16, 2000
Living in the 21st Century:
The Future Women Face in the New Millennium
Russell House, Room 322/326
4 p.m.
March 23, 2000
The Outstanding Woman of the YearatUSC
Celebration and Salute to Connections Participants
Harper College, Gressette Room
4 p.m.
Building links
between
professional
women fr
undergraduate
X /
women
students
Applications deadline extended to:
February 16, 2000
Pick up a Connections application in Student Government, Russell House Information Desk,
or the Campus Activities Center. Call 777-6688 for more information.